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Old 02-21-2017, 04:45 AM   #1
Hamsterita
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Default Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

Hello!

I think that I may have a problem with bugs AGAIN.

I'm going to talk about the background first. I'm using hemp substate mixed with a little bit of carefresh. I have several wood items on the cage (bendy bridges, a seesaw, a house...). My hamster grooms a lot. At the begginning I just thought that he was nervous, and that it wasn't normal, then I thought that he just was a very clean hamster. Now I don't know what to think. He grooms at a point that sometimes he looks wet after doing it. He doesn't have flaky skin, neither red skin or pacthes, at least as far as I can tell he looks fine (well, he has a little patch in his nose but it's always been there, and it doesn't grow).

The problem is that a couple of months ago I was with him in my bed, I have put his carrier and the seesaw there, and I found a super little tiny bug running on my bed, between the seesaw and the carrier. I smashed it. My house doesn't have bugs, and again I supposed that it was a hamster related problem, but I checked the substrate and the toys and I couldn't find anything, but the bug was super small, so it would have been easy to not notice more bugs.


I've never seen another one till this morning. I was trying to plant some lentills to give them to my ham on a bowl. I grabbed a fullhand of substrate and I put it in the bowl, I was putting water in the bowl and then I saw another bug running out of the bowl. I think that it was the same kind of bug, at least it looked very similar. The substrate that I grabbed was next to the seesaw, but maybe it was just a coincidence

As I said, the bug were very tiny, like a grain of salt or sand. They were light colored, not black, maybe cream or brownish, or even reddish, but not very dark, It was hard to tell but If I have to guess I think that it was rounded with a lot of legs on the sides (like a spyder).

1) Anyone can guess what kind of bugs could it be?

2) Anyone has photos of bugs that can be found on hamster things to compare them?

3) How I deal with this problem? What I'm supposed to do? How can I know if I have bugs on my substrate/toys? I should get rid of everything without being sure that it's contaminated? I've read on a Spanish forum that some people put a white sock on the substrate and that the bugs crawl over it and it's easy to see them but I highly doubt that it would be easy to see them and that they would be interested in the sock.

I can't believe that I have to deal with this kind of crap again

----

EDIT: I went to check on the seesaw and surprise surprise!! I found another bug. I don't know if there are more in the substrate. I removed the seesaw from this tank and I haven't seen more in the seesaw either.

I shooted a video


I don't know if you can see it. Do you know what they are?

I'm so fed up. Am I cursed or what?¿?¿?. Now, how I deal with this sh**? I'm very angry and sad and sick of it. I should go with him to the vet? Are these bugs harmful for him? How I get rid of them? Should I trhow everything away? What about the substate that I haven't used?

Last edited by Hamsterita; 02-21-2017 at 06:04 AM. Reason: EDIT: I posted a video where you can see the bug
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Old 02-21-2017, 05:55 AM   #2
Drago
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

It sounds to me like it could be mites, especially since you mention that blacky has been overgrooming and scratching at himself. The way you describe the bugs is spot on with how mites tend to look as well. One of my old lizard's wood substrate got too damp and I had an issue with mites with him. I ended up throwing all his old substrate away and buying repti-carpet but for hamsters this isn't an option. How many exactly have you spotted? Lift substrate out in your hand and see just how many there are. The sock would be a good idea for checking If you see a lot, though it'd be stressful, I would throw away all bedding and wooden things and replace them, maybe shoot for a paper based bedding if you can? Purchase new wooden toys and avoid contact with too much moisture. Mites can be introduced via bedding so what could be happening is that they're being brought in with whatever bedding you have. You could try getting your bedding from a different source and/or freezing the new bedding for 24-48 hours. Hope the issue resolves soon. Best wishes
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Old 02-21-2017, 06:04 AM   #3
Hekomi
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

My guess is mites too. I don't know how things differ geographically but my go to is revolution (selamectin). It's very very safe. You can get it from your vet and hamsters require just one drop on the back of the neck. We use this on any new hamsters and any hamsters leaving our house.

You'll need to either toss, bake or freeze all the wood toys. When we had a hamster bring mites into our house, we dosed all our hamsters with revolution, put them on paper towel bedding, just a hut, wheel, food dish and bottle. We cleaned them out weekly and minimized contact. We gave everyone two doses of revolution (three weeks apart) to ensure we caught the lifecycle.

It sounds like they also may exist environmentally. Do you have a cat? If not, I would suggest purchasing permethrin spray which will kill any mites and bugs on carpet, furniture and human bedding. I wouldn't recommend using this in the cage.
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Old 02-21-2017, 06:12 AM   #4
Hamsterita
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Drago View Post
It sounds to me like it could be mites, especially since you mention that blacky has been overgrooming and scratching at himself. The way you describe the bugs is spot on with how mites tend to look as well. One of my old lizard's wood substrate got too damp and I had an issue with mites with him. I ended up throwing all his old substrate away and buying repti-carpet but for hamsters this isn't an option. How many exactly have you spotted? Lift substrate out in your hand and see just how many there are. The sock would be a good idea for checking If you see a lot, though it'd be stressful, I would throw away all bedding and wooden things and replace them, maybe shoot for a paper based bedding if you can? Purchase new wooden toys and avoid contact with too much moisture. Mites can be introduced via bedding so what could be happening is that they're being brought in with whatever bedding you have. You could try getting your bedding from a different source and/or freezing the new bedding for 24-48 hours. Hope the issue resolves soon. Best wishes
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hekomi View Post
My guess is mites too. I don't know how things differ geographically but my go to is revolution (selamectin). It's very very safe. You can get it from your vet and hamsters require just one drop on the back of the neck. We use this on any new hamsters and any hamsters leaving our house.

You'll need to either toss, bake or freeze all the wood toys. When we had a hamster bring mites into our house, we dosed all our hamsters with revolution, put them on paper towel bedding, just a hut, wheel, food dish and bottle. We cleaned them out weekly and minimized contact. We gave everyone two doses of revolution (three weeks apart) to ensure we caught the lifecycle.

It sounds like they also may exist environmentally. Do you have a cat? If not, I would suggest purchasing permethrin spray which will kill any mites and bugs on carpet, furniture and human bedding. I wouldn't recommend using this in the cage.
I've just edited the post, maybe you can check the video, please. I would be very grateful

I don't have other pets.

I've only spoted these three. I spot clean his tank in the mornings everyday and I've never seen them, neither in my hams fur, but they are so tiny that I can't tell for sure that there aren't more. (and their colour is similar to hemp so that doens't help).

I think that I the only paper based bedding that I can get is paper pellets. I thought hemp was good and safe.

Then, Should I go with him to the vet?

Should I be worried about us (humans) getting them? My parents are going to kill me....

How I should bake the wood items? I thought that it wasn't possible to do that
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Old 02-21-2017, 06:21 AM   #5
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

Hummmmm. The video looks weird. I can only see a little bit in it. Can you describe the bugs more?

You can bake the wood on low heat for a prolonged period of time. Or freeze them for a long period of time.

I would start looking through your hamster's fur to see if you can find anything. Be thorough, try using an eyebrow comb.
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Old 02-21-2017, 06:40 AM   #6
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

Hi - someone else had this before. I think they were mould mites. Not something infesting the hammy but attracted to damp areas. So damp substrate or humidity. I'll see if I can find the other thread.

Edit - found it but it was something different (Elliy had silverfish). I did find something before about the little white mould mites. Don't panic.

There is a thread here that mentions something similar - and the solution was to deep clean the cage, change the bedding and throw away wood toys - and it worked every time apparently. Although the poster (last post on the thread) said her pets weren't itching. It could be that Blacky is just grooming normally - they do groom a lot - and having seen the bugs it's making you more conscious of it. If he doesn't have any bald patches or hair loss then maybe the mites are not on him, but something that has come with the bedding if it was stored in a damp place at some point (maybe before you bought it). You can freeze bedding if you have a freezer.

Mites? Lice? Tiny white creepy crawlies

I just had a look at your video - I'm not an expert, but I think they look too big to be Hamster mites. I did a bit of googling and quite a few people seem to have had them after having plastering done in the house (which is damp I guess) and had little white bugs called plaster mites. So they sound like some kind of house mites.

This is some info on mould mites

Tiny, White Bugs - Mold (Mould)/Grain Mites - In Homes

Rather than treating Blacky just now - (Invermectin is strong stuff), I would try doing a cage clean and see if that solves it. Wood can get damp and tanks have humidity. Poor Blacky having to have a cage clean though. I'm sure he'll forgive you if you give him a big mountain of new nesting material and some special treats.

Hopefully that will solve it. Maybe do a trial and error thing in and just use one type of bedding (the Carefresh) and freeze it for 3 days or so first. So you might need to hang fire for 3 days until you have some bedding that's been frozen to kill things. I don't know how many natural wood items you have - if it's just the odd one it might be best to get rid of it.

They might also be flour or grain mites - there's a photo here if you can compare with your bug

Biodiversity of Cyprus by NGO Protection of the Natural Heritage and the Biodiversity of Cyprus: Acarus siro Linnaeus, 1758 - Grain or Flour mites - Ακάρεα Αλεύρων / Ακάρεα Σιτηρών - Cyprus

In which case they could be from Hamster food. Hamster food does seem to be a culprit for bugs sometimes! (Remembering moth issues).

So the cage clean would help there too and freezing food for a week. Which is tricky when you need food for a week, so again maybe freeze some bedding and food for a week, wait a week and then do the clean out.

I just made myself itch looking up those photos! I think they are just bugs - from the food or bedding or possibly from a wood toy.

Last edited by Pebbles82; 02-21-2017 at 07:05 AM.
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Old 02-21-2017, 07:15 AM   #7
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

I can see the bug in the video but I'm not entirely sure what it is, there are so many different tiny bugs but I have seen something similar living in old books (sometimes called paper mites) so they may well be emerging from some eggs in wood or paper items.
I think throwing all wooden toys out & having a thorough clean out is about the only option.
It is really unpleasant, I'm all itchy & looking warily at all my wooden toys too now lol! but try not to worry too much, I'm sure it's not going to harm Blacky & although it might seem a bit overwhelming it probably won't be that hard to resolve.
Some eggs can survive freezing btw so baking is the only alternative to throwing things out.
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Old 02-21-2017, 07:27 AM   #8
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

You haven't done anything wrong It's probably just nice and cosy in Blacky's tank and some item had eggs in waiting to hatch. It'll either be food, bedding or wood or paper toys as Cypher says. Plain pine usually seems to be ok but the bark wood toys can sometimes have something. I had one with woodworm holes in once! Freezing should kill the bugs but they can stay dormant for 48 hours, hence suggesting a week. As Cypher says it may not kill all eggs but eggs should only hatch out if the conditions are right and it may well not happen again.

As the member said in that link above, a full cage clean and disinfecting knocked it on the head for her when it happened.
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Old 02-21-2017, 09:12 AM   #9
Hamsterita
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

I've been scratching myself all morning. Yikes!! I'm all itchyyyyyyy.

After reading your posts and googling a little bit, I still don't know what they are.

They look a lot like these



Mold mites, but they also look a lot like these



Grain mites. But I'm not an entomologist. I don't know exactly how they were. I know how they aren't, they aren't coloured, they aren't too long, they aren't too big, neither too small, but they are so tiny that it's difficult to distinguish between different withish, leggish, disgudting things.

I've already frozen all the food that I'm giving him for two days, but apparently it isn't enough. I didn't want to risk having another food plague after the moth problem.

What concerns me (or pleases me, I'm not sure how I feel about it) it's that it isn't a plague (at least yet), I've only seen a couple of them and I don't know how to know what's the source of the bugs.

I've read here https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/stru...mite-mold-mite that you can "superheat" things to get rid of them.... I don't know. Maybe I should "superheat" all the food again, toys and substrate.

Do you think that it could be ok to heat the food? I don't want to ruin it.

I didn't think that Blacky's tank was damp or anything like that. What worries me the most is that if I don't know where they coming from, even if I clean everything, I could have more in a couple of days. And it's been months since I've seen the first one, so they could have been there for a while.

Maybe I'll heat everything in the oven. Substrate, toys, food... I don't know what to do.

As I said before, Blacky looks fine, and I thought that his grooming was normal. I was watching some pets affected with mites and he definitely doesn't have flaky skin, scabs or fur loss. So I hope he doesn't have anything wrong. I'll check on him tonight. He's going to hate me...
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Old 02-21-2017, 09:17 AM   #10
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Default Re: Bugs in the substrate/wood toys?

Don't heat the food, you'll destroy a lot of nutrients like that, the best thing is to keep it in the freezer & just take out enough for a couple of days at a time so it gets eaten quickly, it's always possible something may be in the hoard but the longer you freeze the better, 2 days is the minimum & probably not long enough.
Heating is fine for wooden toys though. I think 60C is supposed to be hot enough.
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